Record number of applications in APA2005

"This tremendous interest is very gratifying. The number of companies applying gets larger every year. This shows that the APA system is functioning as the authorities intended," says Bente Nyland, director in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate with responsibility for exploration.

The award of acreage in 2005 is the third such award under the system of awards in predefined areas (APA). Both the acreage and the number of applicants have grown every year.

In APA2003 the authorities received applications from 16 companies; in APA2004 there were 22. Now the figure has risen to 29. At the same time, the area covered under the APA system has also grown. APA2003 covered 143 blocks or parts of blocks; APA2004 covered 151. In APA2005, the number is even larger.

APA2005 was announced on 31 January 2005 and a total of 192 blocks or parts of blocks were announced.

This constitutes an area totaling 66 221 km2. When the deadline for applications expired on 30 September, the area had grown to 68 937 km2, thus making APA2005 the second largest licensing round ever in terms of available area.

The area is distributed as follows (at 31 January 2005); 117 blocks/parts of blocks in the North Sea, 51 in the Norwegian Sea and 24 in the Barents Sea.

The area represents an expansion of 41 blocks/parts of blocks (as of the announcement date) compared with APA2004. These are distributed as follows: 25 blocks/parts of blocks in the North Sea, 16 in the Norwegian Sea. There was no growth of blocks that could be applied for in the Barents Sea, see map below.

The maps show the area covered by APA2005, where the darker pink represents the expansion compared with APA2004.

The purpose of the APA system is to promote faster exploration in mature areas. The system also provides flexibility in that the industry now knows which areas are available in mature parts of the shelf in the years to come. New blocks will be added to the predefined areas each year as the shelf matures for petroleum activity, but the areas will not be restricted. This will make it more attractive for new and smaller companies to set up business on the Norwegian shelf.

The predefined areas will include mature areas, both thoroughly explored acreage and acreage where there has been no exploration activity for a long time. Consequently, there will also be focus on larger prospects in new exploration trends that have been or may be revealed with the aid of newer technology.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) intends to award new production licenses during December 2005, according to a press release from the MPE.